Pokemon: Endgames
by Razor Knight
Summary: Ash returns to the Orange Islands after five years, to visit an old friend. But he finds more than he asked for, and Team Rocket's true agenda is revealed. With most of his old friends living their new lives, he's alone against his nemesis. Or is he?
1. The Lone Trainer

**Pokemon: Endgames. **

**Episode 1: The Lone Trainer.**

_By Razor Knight_

_Last update: January 18, 2007_

* * *

The young man stared into the horizon as the cruise ship moved loungely through the water. The sun was setting, giving the water an orange hue, which was quite fitting to the area he was travelling through. The Orange Islands. It had been almost five years since he had last visited the area. One of the few areas he'd actually got a victory from.

His yellow, rodent friend gave out a 'Pika' as a group of Seadras swam near the boat. "Heh... So many things happened since then, right Pikachu?"

Five years changed a lot. He'd met May and Max, came quite high in the Hoenn tournament, and then returned to Kantou for another try at winning a title.

It was actually during that one journey he'd started seeing the girls he met as more than 'female trainers.' He'd been quite uninterested in girls so far, but not anymore. Which wasn't that weird considering he was twelve by then. Unfortunately for him, the two girls that, he only realized then, had been following him for more than just his training skills, were already lost to him.

"Pika?"

"Just remembering," Ash said, his mind drifting back to the present. "Say, think Charizard will like to see us again?"

"Pika pi!"

Ash smiled. "Me too." He understood what his friend and main Pokemon meant, even though he didn't understand his 'language.' Words, sometimes, just weren't needed between them.

And so, there he was, Ash, champion of the Orange, Silver and Seijuu leagues, the lone trainer, or so he'd been for the last four years. It was quite a surprise to him, when May decided to go back to her home town, after falling for none other than Drew. Ash had always thought the two hated each other, but was proven quite wrong by that. When he returned to Pallet Town, he also found Misty and Tracy had been dating, and were at the time helping Oak out with some research.

That left him alone with Brock, but that didn't last long, either. Last time he saw him, the spike-haired boy had returned to his Gym Leader post, and, from what he'd heard, he soon started dating someone. How he did it, was something Ash didn't really know, and hadn't even tried to figure out. But, again, that left him, Ash, one of the 'bratpack,' alone with his Pokemon.

"Pi Pikachu?"

"Not sure. It's been a while since we fought anyone, but I wouldn't really have you battle on this ship."

"Pika!"

"We need it in one piece."

"Kaa..."

Ash laughed. It'd also been thanks to his 'friends' that he figured out something about his Pikachu. His old 'enemies' from Team Rocket, the eternal losers, Jesse and James. Sometimes, he missed them, others, he was glad they weren't bothering him anymore.

* * *

_It was only a few months after the Frontier battles. Without his friends, Ash was unsure what to do next. He'd figured he would eventually find other trainers to travel with, but that didn't mean he didn't miss his old acquiatances._

_"An evil older than time..."_

_Well, most of them, anyway, he thought as the road ahead of him filled up with smoke. "Not again... Will you two ever learn?"_

_"Damn it, kid, stop interrupting us."_

_Ash smiled at Jesse. "Why is it you three keep on trying? Pikachu's bored of sending you flying away by now."_

_Jesse snorted. "And that, exactly, is the issue. Your Pikachu isn't normal, brat. If you haven't noticed by now, you're denser than we thought."_

_Nope, he hadn't given much thought to it, but an electric Pokemon that could beat rock, plant, dark, or even go as far as resisting a Legendary Pokemon's attack, wasn't a thing he'd seen often._

_"Okay Meowth, show them our little surprise!"_

_The feline Pokemon complied, and, after a bit of toying with a remote, Pikachu was encapsuled in some sort of reddish plastic egg. "Yay, we got us a Tamagotchi," James joked._

_"Pikachu, break free!" Ash ordered. Pikachu tried a lightning attack, but the egg absorbed it. "Huh?"_

_"You should really be used to this by now," Jesse said. "Now, we found a weakness in you, Ash."_

_"Weakness, huh?" Ash snorted._

_"Indeed. In the past, when we tried to capture your yellow rat, there was always one of your friends around to help you out. But right now, you're all alone."_

_The younger trainer produced a pokeball. "Alone? I don't think so. Grovile, get them with Razor Leaf!"_

_"Go, Seviper! Poison Sting!"_

_"Cacnea, Stun Spo--" James' plant Pokemon had a knack for being too attached to him. Cacnea wasn't the exception, and it had latched onto his face as soon as it'd appeared. "Aaargh! For the hundredth time, stop that you green spikeball!"_

_However, Seviper managed to slap Grovile's attack away, and wrapped iself around it. "Grovile, no!"_

_"Maybe we'll get your gecko as well, since you insist," Jesse mused. _

_Pikachu was just looking as Ash called out his Torcoal and Corfish, but the Rocket's Chimeco and Wobbufett blocked their attacks. Were they right, were they so easy to defeat without the others?_

_No, he wasn't about to give up yet. If there was one thing he'd learnt from his trainer, was to never give up, no matter how bad things looked. "Pikaaaa!"_

_"Oh look, the rat wants to play," Jesse said._

_"Uhm..." Meowth looked at the weird remote and grimaced._

_"Sorry Pikachu, but you're not getting out of there," Jesse teased. _

_"Piiii" The egg was, by now, filled with electricity, and the yellow rat kept on pouring energy out. Small cracks appeared on it's surface, and Pikachu glared at the Rockets._

_"Uh... Jesse..."_

_"Not now, Meowth, I'm gloating."_

_"But..."_

_"Later."_

_"Will you stop being a bimbo and listen?" Meowth snapped._

_Jesse glared at him. "What?"_

_"Uh... Well, remember that experimental plastic was tested by the Team Rocket's best scientists?"_

_"Uh huh."_

_"And we were told no Pokemon short of a Legendary one would be able to break through it. No matter the type or level?"_

_"Yeah. That's why I'm gloating."_

_"Piiiiiiiiii!"_

_Jesse turned to the egg, and now could to see the many cracks running along it's surface. "No way..."_

_"That's what I was trying to tell you," Meowth said._

_"Here's when we run, right?" James suggested._

_Ash snorted. "No, here's where you fly. Pikachu, Thunder. Grovile, Solar Beam!"_

_The combined energy wave sent the Rockets up into one of their by now scheduled flights. Ash didn't mind, for some reason, they always came back for more. And after this battle, he knew they just wouldn't win._

* * *

But they never came back. Either their landing that one time wasn't smooth, (something Ash doubted, counting the hundreds of times they'd been sent skyhigh in the past,) or their boss had enough of their incompetence and kicked them out of the group. Ash didn't really know what had happened, and honestly, didn't care. 

"Pi, Pikachu."

"Huh?" Damn, his friend was right. Night had already set, and the Moon was rising up in the sky. He didn't really know what'd gotten into his mind today, but he sure was lost in memory lane.

"Pika..."

Ash chuckled. Pikachu was bored, that was obvious, and he couldn't blame him. But, like it or not, he didn't want to battle on the boat, and for a very good reason.

"Hey, are you Ash Catchum?"

He turned to the voice. A red-haired girl, around his age. From the silvery balls around her belt, he could guess she was a trainer, and a good one. "Yeah, that's me."

"I've heard and read a lot about you."

Ash sighed. _Another_ fangirl? He was a bit tired of them. Even though his track record wasn't good enough for his own expectations, people had gotten to know his name and face through the years. Even though he only won three out of the two dozen tournaments he entered, somehow he had made a name for himself. "Everyone has," he said humorlessly.

"Am I bothering you? If that's the case, I'll leave."

Was he being rude? Not on purpose, and the fact this girl wasn't squealing and asking for an autograph after well over one minute of talking to him, was something worth considering. "No, not at all. It's just I'm used to fans being annoying by default."

The girl giggled. "Don't worry, I'm not one of them. So, that small cute thing there is the so-called 'War Pikachu?' Hard to believe."

Ash smiled. _War Pikachu_ was a nickname Pikachu earned in the Silver League championship. Ash had entered that after his run-in with the Rockets, and was decided to test Pikachu's skills for real. End result was, his rodent friend had zapped his way through the championship to the very finals, facing and defeating an amazingly well-trained Meganium.

"Pi pika..."

"Yeah, I keep on spacing out today," Ash admitted.

"Why are you in the Orange Islands, if I may ask?"

"I'm here to visit an old friend, and maybe have him join the team. What about you, you live here?"

"Me? No, I'm just visiting the region."

Ash looked at the girl again. Something about her seemed familiar. "What's your name?"

"Arina."

"Arina..." Ash thought about where he'd heard the name for a second, then stared at her. Only 'famous' woman with that name he'd ever heard was Arina Staton, the Gym Leader from Erudy City, in the southern Chijou region. A girl that had her gym closed for cheating. Or so the rumors spoke. "Are you Arina, from the Chijou region?"

"Yeah, that's me. I hoped you wouldn't recognise me."

Ash looked at the ocean. "I don't believe all rumors I hear."

"Good, because I'm not a cheater as the rumors say."

He noticed her tensing and smiled. "I don't have any reason to doubt your word, but nobody ever got their gym locked up for nothing."

"They... Had good, and bad reasons. Well, to me they're both bad, but anyway, here's how it happened. You should, by now, know most Gym Leaders use a certain type of Pokemon." Ash nodded at her explanation, that was a basic, "With the exception of the Battle Frontier Leaders, but they're not considered a part of the Pokemon Leagues."

"And you...?"

"I tried to do as the Frontier Leaders. I never really favored one type of Pokemon over any other, and tried to reflect that in my gym. But, the other regional Gym Leaders didn't like it, and they brought the issue to the higher authorities."

"And they closed down your Gym."

"There was more to it than that. I found something else... Several of my area Gyms were run by Team Rocket, as a facade for their plans. My snooping around wasn't good for them, so they decided to take some preemptive measures."

Ash snorted. "I don't see how that'd help them in their Pokemon stealing agenda."

"Are you for real?" Arina growled. "Listen, I know this may sound strange, but the Rockets aren't just low-class thieves. Ever saw them in action?"

Ash looked at Pikachu, and the rodent seemed to be deep in thought. True, with the three stooges chasing him, he had never given the whole thing much thought, but... Domino, the whole MewTwo incident, their run-in with Cerebi in the past... And all the technology they had was just too much money invested just to steal Pokemon. "I... See your point. So, they're going for world conquest?"

"Hard to believe, huh? You must think I'm insane."

"Not at all, I've faced Giovanni before. He always seemed a bit too smart, for someone leading a group of third-class thief wannabes."

Arina giggled. "That does describe their facade."

"Facade?" Ash was surprised, even with all this new conspiracy theory, that they would put so much effort on stealing Pokemon, if it was just a facade.

"Not really a facade, but it's not their true goal. See, they do steal Pokemon, but that's to finance their other operations, and for a 'small' side-project of Giovanni. He wants to have his own army of Pokemon war machines."

Now _that_ sounded more like Giovanni to Ash. "And how do you know all that?"

"My father worked for them. I didn't know that, I always thought he was just a freelance archeologist, until he disappeared in some ancient ruins in the Jouto region. I tried to find him, but I had no luck. Looking for him, however, brought me to discover Team Rocket's real intentions."

"How bad is it?" Ash asked.

"Bad? Worse than you'd think at first. Most cities in my region are under their control, and Kantou and Jouto aren't different. Even here in the Orange Islands, their organization has bases and power. "

"Won't the authorities do something?"

"Authorities? They've bought most of the police everywhere, and Giovanni's aiming to turn anyone with power into a figurehead for his plans."

"That sounds really bad. I guess I'll need you to show me what you've found out, after I pick up my friend from Mt. Charizity."

Arina snorted. "And how do I know you're not with them, too?"

"If you didn't feel like you could trust me, why come and tell me all that?"

"Because I can't do this on my own. I have strong Pokemon, but the Rockets are just too many."

"Look, I'm not with the Rockets, okay? Using Pokemon as war machines? The mere thought makes me sick."

Arina stared at Ash. He was honest, she could tell. But if she trusted him and was wrong, she could end up in the hands of Team Rocket in no time.

The ship suddenly rocked, shaking Arina off her brooding, and also, knocking her off the deck. She felt a hand around her wrist as she fell, and looked up to see Ash smiling at her. "I gotcha, don't worry."

It was easy to get back on board with his help, but as she did, she looked around in shock. Team Rocket grunts, wearing the usual black uniform, were leaping into the boat by the dozen. "Shit..."

"This is a warning to all the passengers. Give us your Pokemon and nobody'll be hurt. Resist, and we'll have to use our weapons."

Ash looked at the Pokemon that was standing next to the grunt shouting that warning. A Mightyena, and it didn't look friendly at all. Or under-trained. "This definitely wasn't part of the cruise."

"What should we do?" Arina asked. So far, she'd avoided any fight with the Rockets, but this time around, there just wasn't a way out of it.

"Pika pi."

"The only option right now is fighting."

"Pi!"

"Use Thunder, though. We can't risk destroying the ship."

"Pikaaaa!" Pikachu's eyes lit up as he charged energy. The Rockets all noticed him at once, and most backed away.

"My, ain't I the luckiest?" the 'leader' mused. "Ash Catchum and his War Pikachu. The boss will be happy when I bring that rat to him."

"What about the boy?" one of the grunts asked.

"We don't need him. Kill him if you need to, but I want that rat."

Ash frowned. So finally, he got to see his enemy's true color.

* * *

**A/N:** What exactly is this aiming for? What the anime guys aren't giving the saga. An ending arc, and a bit of character development. Expect to see things never seen in the anime, like Ash winning a league, or competent Rockets. Yeah, those were half-joking (but doesn't mean they won't happen.) 

As for Jesse and James' 'motto,' I put up the starting line they had in the latter Advanced Battle/early Frontier Battle in the Spanish dub of the anime. Truth be told I lack the time and interest to research on the lattest Japanese (or even the English dub) Pokemon episodes, to see if the mottos are the same in all versions.


	2. Battle Islands

**Pokemon: Endgames. **

**Episode 2: Battle Islands**.

_By Razor Knight_

_Last update: January 19, 2007_

* * *

"I'm warning you, Mr. Celebrity, if that Pikachu of yours attacks, my friend here's gonna have you as his next meal." 

Ash looked at the Rocket in a way that was one sound effect away from a mocking chuckle. "Pikachu, Thunder."

"Pikachuuu!"

The lightning arc shot forwards, smashing into the mass of Team Rocket soldiers, and sending many flying off the deck. The boss, however, was unharmed, as was his pet. "Dark Ball."

The canine Pokemon complied, and shot a large darkness ball at Pikachu. Time had changed the yellow rat a lot too, as it now didn't always wait for his master and friend's command before acting. With an impressive leap, Pikachu dodged the ball, and also placed himself right where he wanted to be. The Rocket and his pet looked up in shock at the seemingly floating Pokemon.

"Pi pika!"

"Go ahead, I'd rather swim than listen to this fool's gloating any longer," Ash said.

"What's he up to?" Arina asked.

"Just... Try to endure the shock," Ash said. "Pikachu, Zap Cannon!"

Pikachu was by now a flying electric ball. True, Zap Cannon needed a few seconds to charge, but once released, it guaranteed pain for the opponent. The beam of condensed lightning shot down, impacting the Mightyena and sending it gliding back and right into its owner, and both were sent flying off the cruise.

However, instead of panicking, the remaining Rockets decided to counterattack. The still airborn Pikachu felt like a sitting, or rather, floating duck as a barrage of Dark Balls was shot, focusing in his form.

Before the deadly barrage could hit, however, an orange blur dove in, getting Pikachu off the line of fire. As the blur stopped, both Ash could see an old friend, one they didn't think they'd see so soon. "Charizard!"

The large dragon growled at Ash, then shot a fiercer growl at the Rockets. He left Pikachu fall, knowing his trainer would catch him, and glided down, straight for the mass of intruders. He stopped, however, at the last second, flapping his wings fast. That movement alone sent most of the Rockets falling off the ship. Those that remained were too confused, scared, or both, to even move.

It was only then the ship's own security guards appeared, easily outnumbering the Rockets, and bringing the fight to an end. The ship's captain walked loungely to where Ash was, and nodded at him. "You have my thanks, Mr. Catchum, for your courage saved my ship."

Ash looked at Arina before answering. "I guess it did, huh? But it wasn't really me, I have my Alpha Team to thank for this victory."

"Alpha Team?" Both the captain and Arina asked.

Ash nodded. "Pikachu, Charizard, and also Sceptile... I think they're the best Pokemon I ever had."

Charizard growled his agreement. Pikachu looked up at the floating, massive dragon and waved. "Pika pi!"

"So, what are you going to do now?" Arina asked, as the captain left to supervise the rescue and containment of the many Rockets that were sent for a swim.

"I was going to pick Charizard up, but since he's here already... Charizard, would you like to join my team again? I'll need you for something very important."

Arina looked away. "I see. So, you're going to one of the leagues... "

Ash smiled at her. "No. I'll have time for fun and games later, but first I want to check on what you've found."

Arina smiled back. Ash would be a lot of help to her. He was skilled, his Pokemon were powerhouses, and... He was handsome, too.

"Pika? Pi ka."

"Oh?" Ash turned to Arina. "Hey, your face's red. Are you okay?"

"Uh... Yeah, it's nothing," Arina said trying to make her blushing go away.

* * *

The cruise ship had to stop at one of the islands to deliver it's unwanted cargo to the area police. Ash had decided to stay in the island until he figured his next step. However, he was about to get some shocking news. 

"I think I'll send Torcoal back, since now I have you, Charizard..." Ash said. As he acessed his Dex's menu, however, he noticed something was wrong. "Huh? The storage system's offline."

"Strange," Arina said. The PokeCenter they were now staying in was quite empty, so the girl had thought about giving her team a chance to get some fresh air. "Let's see..."

Ash looked at the balls Arina was checking as he dialed a number on the center's vidphone. "Silver balls, huh? I've heard they're very good, but also very expensive."

"My family... My father was wealthy, ever since I can remember. But now that I know where all that money probably came from..."

"Hey, don't worry, I'm sure we'll find him." He turned to the vidphone and blinked a few times at the face showing up. "Misty?"

"Ash? Is that really you?"

"Yep. But what are you doing at Oak's lab?"

"Oak was... Taken away," Misty said.

"What?"

"I find it hard to believe too, but... The Team Rocket forced him to join their research group. All the Pokemon stored here are gone, too, and we don't know where they've taken him."

Arina noticed Ash's face losing color. "Ash?"

"That's it," Ash said, his tone almost furious. "They've gone too far this time."

"I agree, but what can we do?" Misty asked.

"You, go back to your gym," Ash said. "I'll take care of this mess. Oh, and say hello to Tracy for me, will you?"

Misty smiled. "Will do."

Ash's tone wasn't sarcastic, he had no reason to hate Tracy or Misty, and the same went for the rest of his friends. As his mother had told him once, friends sometimes walked different paths, but their friendship wouldn't easily die. "Oh, one last thing... Is mom okay?"

"She's fine. I'll tell her you called."

Ash nodded. "Goodbye."

"Who was that, a girlfriend?" Arina asked.

"No, just an old friend," Ash explained. "Arina, the Rockets forced one of the persons I respect the most to join their ranks, and that is something I won't forgive."

"What are you going to do?"

"Find their main base and kick Giovanni's ass straight to jail."

"That's easy to say."

"I'm not asking you to come with me. I thank you for telling me of their true intentions, but.."

"I'll tag along. I need to find my father, and I've been living off Rockets' money for years, so I'm sharing their crime."

"You're not."

"Don't even bother," Arina said. "Do you have any other super Pokemon besides the cutie and your dragon?"

Ash smiled and tapped one of the Pokeballs, and a quite tall lizard-like creature appered. "My friend Sceptile."

"Wow..." Sceptile's scaly skin seemed to shine, making his figure almost intimidating.

"Now, I've shown you mine, what about yours?"

Arina giggled at the half-intended innuendo. "Well, here's my first and strongest... Blaze!"

Ash nodded as a Blaziken appeared. "Impressive."

"And I have my own dragon too. Sally, come out!"

'Sally' was a large, dangerous-looking Salamence. "Nice."

"And last but not least, Shadow!" Shadow was an Umbreon, and also looked well-trained.

"Not bad, I bet those three could take care of any Rockets we find. "

Arina blushed at the compliment. "I only lost two battles out of over one hundred I had as a Gym Leader."

"Heard that before," Ash said, going into his trainer mode.

"Not from me."

"Is that a challenge?" Ash asked with a smile.

"I'd like to see if any of my Pokemon can defeat that cutie."

"Pika!"

"I think Pikachu accepted the challenge," Ash said. "But, where to fight?"

"Outside. We already have an audience anyway."

Ash looked out and saw a group of villagers looking through the center's windows. "Hope you don't mind that, it happens too often for my liking."

Arina giggled. "I'll live. So..."

Ash nodded. "Let's see your skills."

* * *

Once outside, the two stood at enough distance to make the area between them as large as a battle arena. "Well, Arina, I think I'll be a gentleman and let you choose first." 

Arina smiled. "I choose Shadow."

Ash smirked "I'll use Sceptile for this, then."

Arina stood ready, and listened to the crowd. Most murmurs were faint to hear, but some fans weren't so subtle.

"Is that who I think it is?"

"That girl's got no chance against him."

She smiled. Maybe she was set to lose, but she'd have fun anyway. "Shadow, use Shadow Ball!"

"Sceptile, dodge then Razor Leaf."

"Follow up with Nightmare."

Ash grimaced as Sceptile was knocked back by the dark attack. "Bullet Seed, and charge up..."

Shadow dodged the bullets, and Arina smirked.

"Now, Sceptile, Solar Beam!

"Destiny Bond!"

The crowd was mostly shocked as both Pokemon fell to the ground, knocked out. "You're good," Ash said, "but now it's time for Charizard!" The large orange dragon leapt off the PokeCenter's roof, and stood next to Ash. "Ready to go?"

Charizard growled, then shot a fire beam straight at Ash. Arina cringed. "Damn! Ash, are you okay?"

Ash's face was darkened, but he didn't seem to be in pain. "I was expecting that."

"That was weird," Arina muttered. "Anyways... Sally, start up with an Hyper Beam!"

"Charizard, Flamethrower," Ash said.

The crowd cheered as both attacks clashed. The two dragons looked at each other then growled. "Sally, use Body Slam."

"Wait..." Ash said.

Charizard growled.

"Not yet..."

Charizard saw Sally a few steps away and growled louder.

"Right... About... Now! Seismic Toss!"

Arina's eyes widened as Charizard took the Body Slam hit, but used her dragon's momentum to easily heave Sally up, and after flying up high, bearhugged her and skydived her into the ground, knocking her.

"Told you, that girl's fried."

Ash noticed Arina glaring at the crowd. "The battle's here, don't mind what they say."

"But..."

"You still have one Pokemon left. Besides, I bet none of the crowd here would challenge me."

That quite silenced the crowd. Arina smiled at Ash. "You're right, I've got one Pokemon left, and I think it's just what I need. Blaze, get that lizard!"

"Hmmm..." Ash knew the size difference could give his Charizard the advantage, but also, that Body Slam had weakened him slighty. "Charizard, Fly now!"

Arina looked up. "Aww, is he scared of my fightress?"

Charizard growled and shot down at high speed, his wings shining with light. "What the heck?" Ash muttered.

"Steel wing?" Arina said in shock. She recovered fast enough, though, and knew just what to do. "Blaze, use our three hits knock out move!"

Ash blinked in disbelief as his Charizard fell to the ground face-first, after a short flight. Arina's Blaziken had used Low Kick, High Kick and Mega Punch to knock the living stuff out of his dragon. "... That was..."

The girl shrugged. "Linked moves work wonders."

Linked, huh? "I admit it, I wasn't expecting you to do something like that. However, now it's time for my best Pokemon to fight."

"Pika!"

The crowd cheered, as they knew Ash's Pikachu wasn't an easy opponent. Also, they carefully stepped back, knowing, also, that some of Pikachu's attacks could be a pain for anyone standing too close.

"Let's start with something soft," Ash said. "No need to knock that flamehead out in our first attack. Thunder!"

"Counter with Flamethrower!"

"Pi..."

"Ken!"

Arina chuckled. "One little tip, Ash, don't play soft because I'm a girl. You may regret it."

"Thanks for the tip, then," Ash said. "Zap Cannon!"

"Overheat!"

As both attacks crashed, the city was in daylight for several seconds. Both Pikachu and Blaze stood unharmed, but the ground where the clash had happened was scorched and cracked. "You know, you were right, Arina."

"Weren't expecting that one, were you?"

Ash shook his head. "No. I gotta admit, I like girls who can battle at my level." And also, she'd taught him something. "Pikachu..." Ash kneeled besides the rat and whispered something to him.

"Come on, Catchum, I don't have all day," Arina teased.

"Yeah, I agree. Time to wrap this up. Pikachu, you know what to do. "

"Blaze, use your three hits knock out again."

Blaze tried her low kick, but Pikachu countered with Agility, moving out of harm's way. He took her confusion as a chance to leap at her, using Thunder Wave as he landed on her head, followed by Thunder, then, as he leapt up, he unleashed a close range Zap Canon.

After the blinding light had dimmed, the crowd could see Pikachu standing near Blaziken. The rat was, admittedly, barely standing, as he'd wasted a lot of energy in those strong attacks, but Blaze was clearly knocked out.

Arina chuckled as she recalled her Pokemon. "Seems like you won."

The crowd cheered, and Ash smiled. "You are good, Arina. If I hadn't mimicked your 'link' I would've lost."

"And I now know why they call him the War Pikachu. Good thing you're not an enemy."

As they moved back into the center, Ash's face was neutral again. "I just realized, I don't know where to look at."

"For the Rockets?" Arina said. "Their main base's location is unknown, at least to me."

"I think I'll head back home and see if my friends know where Oak is. "

"We're in the same boat now, huh?"

"You could say that," Ash said. "Let's start our trip tomorrow, after a good night's rest."

Arina just nodded. _'Soon, dad, I'll find you.'_

* * *

The crowd outside had mostly dispersed, but two figures remained, looking at the Pokecenter as they also started walking away. "He's better than I thought." 

"So is the girl. Let's not get on their way until we're sure they're heading in the right direction."

"Agreed. There's no need to help them yet, and if they can't take on the underlings, they'll have no chance against Giovanni."

* * *

**A/N:** Enter the cliche shadowy figures. I think I'm done with the prologue, next episode the plot will finally move. 


	3. The Domino Effect

**Pokemon: Endgames.**

**Episode 3: The Domino Effect.**

_By Razor Knight_

_Last update: November 22, 2007_

* * *

Looking back, Ash really wished he'd chosen more than two Pokemon for his trip. It would've meant less of his friends left for the Rockets to capture. 

He'd been travelling for a couple days now, with Arina as his new partner, and finally reached another of his old playgrounds, the Hoenn region.

"So, one of your old friends lives here?"

Arina's voice broke into his brooding, and he nodded. "Professor Birch's lab is right..." He froze as he saw the lab surrounded by police officers. "... there."

"Pi pika."

"Guess we're late," Arina said with no hint of sarcasm.

"Ash? Is that really you?"

The green-haired teen standing near the lab was quite easy to recognize for Ash. "Hello Drew."

"Did you hear the news too?"

"No, I was coming here to see if Birch had information about Oak."

"Misty called me yesterday. From what I know, all the Professors are vanishing. Even Ivy from Orange Islands."

Even Ivy? Things were worse than he had thought. "Where's May?"

"She's in Kanto right now, she was heading there for a contest but now, I don't know. She didn't call me in three days."

Arina listened as the two spoke. The Rockets were 'recruiting' more and more people into their ranks as time passed, and she was sure they would stop playing nice soon.

"Pi pikachu?"

She sighed. Sometimes, she wished she could understand what Pokemon said. "Ash, there's nothing we can do about this. Whatever the Rockets are doing, with people like Oak and Birch working for them, they will have it easy."

Ash nodded. "We need to get into one of their bases and learn all we can."

"Rockets?" Drew asked amusedly. "Why are you so worried about them?"

"Because they're not fooling around this time, Drew," Ash said bluntly. "They're not just second-class Pokemon thieves, and whatever they're doing is more important than any contest or tournament we could think of."

"What, are they questing for world domination?"

"Yes, they are," Arina said. "Listen, I know it's hard to believe, but that's the real Team Rocket. They've infiltrated the Pokemon League already, as well as several city councils. They're taking over, and nobody sees it."

"Sounds like one big fairy tale to me," Drew said.

"You better believe it, Drew."

The trio turned to the side and saw May leaning on a tree. She looked much like Ash remembered her from the old days, only real difference was she filled her clothes a lot better nowadays, and her bandanna had a different pattern now, white flames on a red background. "May, what happened?"

Drew immediately noticed something. "That scar in your arm..."

"What the girl says is true," May said. "The contest I went to was set up by the Rockets. Now I know why only the best coordinators were invited."

"I should've accepted that invitation, then," Drew said. "I would have helped you."

May smiled at that, then turned serious again. "I lost Skitty there. The scar's from trying to get her back."

"If this whole conspiracy theory is true, then we shouldn't mess with the Rockets."

May felt like slapping Drew, but she stopped herself short of doing it. "Look, Drew, they got one of my Pokemon, one I care about more than I care about myself. If you want to sit here and wait for them to come steal your pets, go ahead. I'm..."

"I know what you're thinking," Ash said, "and we're trying to find the Rockets' main base."

May looked at Arina. "I know you. Arina Stanton, right?"

"Yes, I'm quite a celebrity," Arina said with a soft giggle.

"How did you meet Ash?"

"We were on the same cruise ship when the Rockets attacked," Arina said, "and Ash got rid of those Rockets in a blink."

"The way they're acting nowadays almost makes me miss Jesse and James," May noted. "Are they still after you?"

Ash shook his head. "No, we had a battle a few days after I started travelling on my own, and I haven't seen them since then."

"I don't think May will change her mind about this, so we're going with you," Drew said.

"I don't want to involve you two into this," Ash noted.

"You're still one of May's closest friend," Drew said, "and for a while I thought you were something else. I've followed your carreer, Catchum, and I'm quite sure you could actually do this."

"I don't even know where to start."

"we'll need to research," Drew said. "Maybe your brother could figure it out?" he said turning to May.

May nodded. "I'll call Max and see if he can help. Last I knew of him, he was in Kanto."

"In the meantime," Arina said, "I'll go search for a place to eat. I'm starving."

Drew smiled. "There's a good burger place near here. Want me to show you?"

Ash looked at Drew meaningfully. "I'm hungry, too, I'll tag along. "

"Okay, you guys go ahead, I'll catch up when I'm done talking to Max, " May noted.

Drew took the lead, with Arina following, and Ash walking meters behind. He felt a tiny hand on his head and turned to look at his partner Pokemon. "What's wrong, Pikachu?"

"Pi pikachu... Pi?"

He was amazed how he could understand the small, yellow creature. He didn't really understand the words, but after all this time together, he could easily tell what he meant. "You really think I did that?"

"Pika."

Ash laughed it off, but deep inside, it bothered him. Sure, he'd expect Pikachu to be able to read him like an open book by now, after being with him for this long, but it was a bit strange that he could see things even he wasn't aware of. _'Was that really jealousy?'_

* * *

Several hundred miles away, and also several hours earlier, a blond woman was looking at the one male she would ever consider superior, or even equal, to her. He was, after all, the one that had helped her out of the streets. She respected him, and felt bringing a report like the one she'd just given him was disrespectful. Even if she hadn't taken any part in the cruise ship fiasco. 

"Domino," the man spoke after a minute of weighing the information, "I'm glad to hear everything's going as planned."

She was downright confused by his reaction, was he actually saying losing over a hundred soldiers had been planned? "Giovanni, I don't understand."

Giovanni smiled at her. She was possibly the only soldier of his army that could call him by his birthname without being punished in any way. "You should be aware of the fame our old friend Ash has gained since he started. I must admit he was running on luck alone before, but I don't really think he would have gotten as strong as he is without having some skills to back him up."

"It's strange to hear you praising our enemies," Domino noted.

"Credit where it's due, dear Domino," Giovanni said. "If we were talking about clowns like Aqua or Magma, it would be different."

"They disbanded years ago," Domino said. "And I still don't know what any of this has to do with the cruise fiasco."

"It wasn't a fiasco," Giovanni explained. "I planned it to be a failure. I knew Catchum would be there, and I knew the grunts wouldn't be enough to stop him."

"Then why send them there?"

"To give him false hopes. You know those grunts are just as useless as some of our former operatives were."

Domino nodded. "Good riddance to them."

"Team Rocket's raising in power, and in this stage of our organization, I'd rather have a few dozen men and women I can count on and trust, than a thousand useless soldiers who fight only for the pay and are content to earn what little I want to share with them. Those soldiers aren't worthy of the team, they don't have what is needed to control the world. Elites, like you, are the ones I know will make my vision come true."

Domino blushed slightly at the compliment. "So, you're planning to give Catchum a false idea of our power."

"Indeed. If he keeps thinking all of Team Rocket is still that weak, if he doesn't face our true power until, or should I say, 'if' he finds our main base and tries to fight us, then he will be unprepared for our counterattack."

"What if he still manages to overpower our Elites?"

"I'm prepared for such event, too. I'm sure that, if everything goes according to plans, we will soon be writing the 'Legend' as a notable footnote in our team's history."

"So, what will be our next move?"

"Scouts sent word that Catchum was heading for Littleroot. Maybe to visit his old friend Birch. He will be disappointed, as we recruited him last night. But it is time to show the world that we aren't fooling around. And we can also make Ash's self-confidence grow."

Domino was genuinely intrigued now. "Are you going to send more grunts in?"

"Sure, but this time, you will lead them."

"If I were to fight him now..."

"I want you to lose."

"Giovanni, I..."

"I know it's hard to swallow your own pride and let the enemy win, but it won't be in vain. While the grunts openly attack the city, I have a... Side plan that will make it all worth the effort."

Domino bowed to the man. "I trust your judgement, sir. I'll go and face Catchum. But..."

"But?"

"I request permission to kick his ass before letting him win."

"Granted, as long as you don't go overboard with it."

* * *

As May joined her friends, she could see Drew was chatting with Arina, while Ash had a somber look on his face. She could almost guess what he was sulking about, and she couldn't help but share the feeling. "Things are worse than I thought, guys." 

That brought Ash back from his brooding. "What do you mean?"

"Max was already tracking down the Rockets' activities. Apparently, they're still working in the background, but have infiltrated everything, from gyms to the government."

"Does he have any leads on where their base might be?"

"Not yet, but he's working on it. He said if he found anything, he would call me immediately."

"Good, now..."

A loud explosion muffled whatever Ash said next. He looked outside, noticing two things almost immediately. First was, the local police headquarters were burning. And second, there were Rockets in town. Everywhere. Way more than he'd seen in the cruise.

May's eyes widened as she realized what was going on. "They're attacking the city!"

Drew rushed outside without saying a word. Arina looked at Ash questioningly.

"I don't know what they're after this time," Ash said coldly, "but I won't just sit here and watch them hurt innocent people."

May nodded. "I agree. But they already got Birch, what else could they be looking for?"

"Maybe they're looking for me," Ash said grimly.

* * *

Littleroot had rapidly turned into a warzone, as the Rockets had appeared literally out of nowhere, taking the town by surprise. Their pokemon were varied, ranging from the Arcanines and Magmars burning down buildings and trees, to Geodudes and Makuhitas tackling anyone who dared come too close to them. 

"You know, I believe you now," Drew said to Ash, then turned to his Pokemon. "Flygon, Hyper beam. Roselia, Solar Beam!"

Several Pokemon were knocked back, along with their owners, but it was quite clear even Drew's powerhouses (or Ash's own powerhouse) wouldn't be enough to defeat so many enemies.

"Blaze, Sally, Shadow, it's time to play!"

Ash saw Arina's Pokemon charge at the mass of Rockets without waiting for her orders. He looked at his only occupied Pokeball and nodded. "Sceptile, go!"

As the large lizard appeared, a growl could be heard, soon followed by a shadow looming over the city. A few blasts of fire shot down from the sky, knocking several more Pokemon out.

"That's your Charizard?" May asked.

Ash nodded, then looked at Pikachu, still standing over his shoulder. "I think they'll need your help."

"Blaziken, go!"

Ash was only half surprised to see one of May's old Pokemon was now a fully-evolved creature. "What about your other..." He started, but saw the look in May's face. "They didn't just get Skitty, did they?"

May shook her head, then turned back to the battle. "Blaziken, show them your Flamethrower!"

Ash was about to order Pikachu to help, seeing how Sceptile and Charizard had both disappeared into the crowd of battling creatures. However, before he could say a thing, a black flower came flying, stabbing the ground next to his feet. A memory from the somewhat distant past stirred, confirmed as he rose his eyes to meet those of the blond woman. "Domino."

"Good to know you still remember me," Domino said. "I think I should feel honored to be the one who will capture you, out of all our army. "

"I don't have time for your games," Ash snapped.

"Games? I'm not playing games," Domino said. "I'm not like the losers you used to fight in the past."

Arina overheard them, and looked at Ash. "Ash, we can handle the grunts, you take care of the leader."

"Besides," Domino said, "I have taken over the Pokecenter. One word from me to the soldiers there, and they'll burn the whole place down, Pokemon and humans included."

"What do you want?" Ash snapped.

"I was ordered to capture you, so give it up, and the center's safe. "

Ash thought about it for a minute, then shook his head. "Let's make this interesting. Pikachu against your best Pokemon. If you win, I'll go with you, but if I win, you and your toy soldiers will leave this city."

Domino smiled. Hook, line and sinker. As long as she entertained him, he wouldn't go peeking around, and thus whatever Giovanni was after would be long gone when - if - he figured out what the real purpose of this attack was.

"So, what do you say?"

"I could just blow the damn town skyhigh," Domino noted, "but beating your so-called War Pikachu in a battle will be a nice bonus. "

Ash nodded at Pikachu, who swiftly leapt off his shoulder, landing meters away, and glaring at Domino. "Pika!"

Domino smiled. "That rat's kind of cute, a pity it won't stay cute when the battle's over. Umbreon, come forth!"

Ash couldn't help but stare at the Pokemon as it appeared. True, he had faced several of these supposedly rare creatures in the past, but this one's fur was, in a way, shining. Shining with a dark, violet hue. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"Umbreon, Shadow Ball!" Both attacks clashed, and Domino smirked. "You're better than I thought. This will be fun."

Ash merely nodded as he waited for her next move.

* * *

**A/N:** Yep, Giovanni's one smart bastard in this fic. As for him mentioning Aqua and Magma? There's a reason for that, but you'll have to wait for the next few episodes to see it. 

Edit: I don't know why the hell I put 'Oldale' when the place this is taking action is Littleroot. Guess I need to go play Ruby again to check on all the city names.


	4. Rocket Power

**Pokemon: Endgames.**

**Episode 4: Rocket Power.**

_By Razor Knight_

_Last update: November 23, 2007_

* * *

Drew had never seen anything like what was happening in front of his eyes. There were easily a hundred Pokemon all around the town, from both the Rockets and the locals, fighting relentlessly. He had given up on trying to order his own Pokemon, as the rumble of battle made it impossible. Still, Flygon, Roselia and Absol were far from helpless without him. As he looked up in the sky, he saw Flygon shooting an Hyper Beam at point blank against an enemy Spearow. The bird glided a few hundred meters back, smashed against the wall of Birch's lab, and fell down in a quite painful-looking position. 

As Flygon went to look for more targets, he looked at the bird. Walking closer, after making sure no Pokemon was paying attention to him, realization dawned on him about what his Flygon had done. Even if they were trying to save the town, it didn't make it right to kill another living being.

"I know what you're thinking, and trust me, I don't feel good about it either."

Drew looked at Arina, who was standing there, looking at him as he loomed over the Spearow's corpse. Her Salamence was right behind her, and he could see the creature's fangs were soaked in fresh blood. "You..."

"In a situation like this, we can't hope to survive if we stand there and try not to harm our foes too much. They are going to destroy this town if we don't stop them."

"Sorry if I'm not so cold-blooded as you, Arina." A furious growl forced him to look up, and he saw a Charizard - Ash's Charizard - facing a quite large group of golbats. Drew searched for his own flying Pokemon and spotted him. "Flygon, help Charizard!"

As Flygon fled to Charizard, knocking a few of the attackers off him, Drew noticed Arina looking at him. "What?"

There was no malice in her eyes as she spoke. "I think you get it now, don't you?"

"It's them or us, it doesn't matter if I like it."

Arina nodded and turned to her dragon. "Sally, go up there and help them." Sally growled, and Arina smiled. "Don't worry about me."

With another growl, the dragon rose and fled up, tackling a Murkrow that had been about to hit Flygon. Drew looked at Arina and smiled. "You're good."

Arina shrugged. "Drew, do you know where the Pokecenter is?"

Drew nodded, pointing south. "That way, why?"

"If they wreck it, we won't have anywhere to get our Pokemon treated."

"Absol, we have to check on the Pokecenter." Absol was just done beating a Raticate down, so he growled and dashed off. Drew turned to Arina as he followed his friend, and noticed she wasn't moving. "What's wrong?"

"Check the center, I need to see if Ash is okay."

Drew watched her rush out of the area and smirked before running off himself. "I knew it."

* * *

"Shadow Ball!" 

"Quick Attack!"

Domino grimaced as her Umbreon was knocked back a few meters. That Pikachu had a lot of physical strength for something that small. Even though Umbreon was one of her best Pokemon, she knew winning wouldn't be easy. And in this case, her orders were not to win.

Which didn't mean she couldn't have fun while losing. "Umbreon, Poison Fang!"

"Dodge, then leap up," Ash said, "and do a Zap Tackle combo."

"A what?" Domino found herself staring in shock as Pikachu followed Ash's commands, leaping up and shining with light. "Umbreon, he's going to use a Zap Cannon, dodge!"

Umbreon prepared to dodge the blast when it came, but yapped in surprise as Pikachu himself dove down at him. The dark pokemon didn't realize that was a Volt Tackle, until it hit. And before he could figure out what was going on, he saw Pikachu was nowhere to be seen. "Eon?"

"Pika!" Pikachu said from atop Umbreon's head. His opponent had no time to react before he shot a Zap Cannon at point blank, knocking him out.

Domino stared at the fallen animal before looking up at Ash, a flicker of rage crossing her eyes before she bowed to him. "I must admit I never expected that kind of strategies from you."

Ash glared at her. "And now you're going to tell me you have no intention to--"

Domino's soft laughter interrupted him. "Silly boy. I know this may be hard to believe, but some of us Rockets have honor. Don't think we'll leave you alone, though. There's others waiting for a chance to fight you, and maybe they'll be luckier than I was."

Ash looked at Pikachu as Domino left. "That was almost _too_ easy."

"Pi pika..." Pikachu agreed.

* * *

Drew looked at the Pokecenter and paled. Sure, he liked to consider himself a brave man, but there was a fine line between brave and stupid. And trying to face the twenty or so grunts with his Absol alone would cross that line. "What do you think, pal?" 

"Absol."

"Yeah, we don't have a chance against them," Drew admitted. They were hiding in an alley a few houses away from the Center, and could see the soldiers were apparently waiting for something. That something seemed to be Domino, who walked to them with rage in her face.

"We're leaving."

"But Lady Domino, we were ordered to..."

"You were ordered to attack this town and to follow my orders once the attack was underway. I'm telling you grunts we're leaving, and we're fucking leaving, got it?"

Drew smirked. That woman had the Bitch From Hell attitude quite studied. Or maybe it came naturally. In any case, he followed the grunts with his sight as they left the area, Domino shouting orders into a communicator. "Wonder what happened there?"

"I beat her, that's what." Ash said.

Drew almost jumped, he hadn't noticed Ash was there. "Uhm... You beat her?"

Ash nodded. "And I came here to make sure she kept her word."

"Let's check on the girls," Drew said, "and I also want to see if Flygon and Roselia are okay."

Ash followed Drew closely, wondering if Arina and May were okay. In the heat of battle, and while dueling Domino, he had almost forgotten the two girls fighting the main crowd of Rockets.

And, whether he liked to admit it or not, he was worried the most about Arina.

"Pi?"

"Charizard and Sceptile will be okay, Pikachu. I'm worried about someone else."

"Ka..."

Ash nodded, knowing what the creature meant. "She's my friend, too. "

* * *

May couldn't help but watch in surprise as the Rockets retreated. Each grunt had a concealed jetpack, which explained how they had entered the town so suddenly, and also made it impossible for her to give chase. 

Several other trainers had sent their flying Pokemon after the escaping army, but those jetpacks were visibly meant to outrun most Pokemon she knew.

"Even Sally wouldn't be able to catch up with them," Arina commented, confirming her theory.

"Where are Ash and Drew?" May asked.

"No idea. I was looking for Ash, thought he would be still fighting that bimbo."

May shook her head. "She came into the scene shouting orders, and was the first one to take off. I guess Ash kicked her asss."

"That I did," Ash admitted as he and Drew walked to the two girls. "May, are you okay?"

May looked down at the thin line of blood running down her leg, coming from a small cut near her knee. "Nothing too bad, I just got too close to the battle and a Raticate attacked me."

Sally landed besides Arina, and Ash noticed the dragon's mouth was bloody. "Damn, is she hurt?"

Arina looked at the pokemon and smiled. "No, I don't think any of that blood is hers."

Ash winced. In trainer battles, he had rarely ever seen blood. But in a situation like this, he supposed some Pokemon could get injured, or worse. And so could their trainers. "I wonder where... "

"Sceptile!"

Ash's green lizard leapt off a rooftop and landed besides him, giving him a brief smile. The bigger, orange 'lizard' came into view just then, his mouth and claws showing he didn't hold back against the enemy either.

"Pika pi."

As Charizard growled, Ash smiled. "Sometimes I wish I had a translator."

"What were they looking for, anyway?" May pondered.

"From what Domino said, they were looking for me."

"All this for you?" Drew asked. "No offense intended, but I think it's a bit too much."

"They destroyed the police HQ," Arina noted, "and from what I heard when Domino was around, they intended to destroy the Pokecenter if Ash didn't join them."

"Speaking of that," May said, looking around, "My town was totalled. "

Ash nodded at that. Indeed, most of the houses and the local Pokemart - which Ash didn't remember being there last time he was around - had been wrecked. The locals, along with some travelling trainers, had done their best to protect the town, but in the end, most of it was destroyed.

Arina winced. "I wonder if anyone got killed."

May's eyes widened and she run off. At Arina's inquisitive look, Ash grimaced. "This is her hometown, and her mother lives here."

Drew nodded. "Hope nothing bad happened to her."

"If she was hurt because of me... I..."

Arina put a hand on Ash's shoulder. "Don't be fooled by Domino's pretty words. Drew's right, Team Rocket wouldn't bother with an attack this large without a really good reason."

"Getting one of the best trainers in the area to join them isn't good enough?" Ash said humorlessly.

"You may be," Arina admitted, "but I don't think that's enough. It just seems too easy, they left without fighting after you defeated Domino."

Ash was deep in thought for a few minutes, trying to look at the whole picture. Yes, despite his ego's need for this attack to be a mean to get him, he had rarely ever seen Domino before. And from what he knew of her, she was a high rank Rocket, not just a half-rogue grunt like Jessy, James, Cassidy or Hutch were.

May came walking back, with her mother besides her. "Ash, it's been a while."

Ash smiled at the woman. "Good to see you're unharmed."

"I am, but the house is wrecked."

"The Pokecenter wasn't touched, and..." she quickly glanced around the city. "Birch's lab, too. Whatever they were looking for, it was in one of those places."

"We don't know what Birch was working on," May's mother said. "But I bet what they were looking for was there."

"Fuck." Ash muttered. It all fell into place now. "I'm an idiot."

"Why?"

"Domino's challenge, it was a trap. She wanted me to fight her. With me busy, I wouldn't go snooping around and find their true goal."

"I'll ask Max if he knows what Birch was working on. He kept in touch with the professor, after all."

Arina nodded at May. "In the meantime, we need to figure out what to do next."

"I'll stay," May said. "I want to help rebuilding the city."

"You and Blaziken would be good allies for us, but I understand," Ash said. "If Pallet was attacked like this, I'd want to stay behind and help rebuilding, too."

"May, go with him."

"But mom..." May said.

"We'll manage without you," the woman said.

* * *

"Sir, we found the second relic." 

"It's good to know Birch wasn't lying to me," Giovanni's voice said through the comm. "It would be a pity to lose a mind like his."

"We only have two of those relics, what about the others?"

"I'm sure our researchers will give us their possible location soon, " Giovanni said. "That is, if they value their lives."

"And what if we can't find them all, Giovanni?" that caused muttering from some of the grunts that were flying close to her. She didn't mind that, in fact she loved to rub it off on these grunts, that she was possibly the only memeber of Team Rocket who could call the boss by his true name.

"Then I'll think of something else. But for now, let's keep searching. If the legends are right, then having an ultimate weapon will surely help our vision come true."

As the link was cut, Domino couldn't help but smile. In a few months, at most, she knew she would have the world at her feet.

* * *

Arina was glad that Drew had a car. She liked to walk, true, but in this situation, the sooner they got to where they needed to go, the better. 

With Drew and May sitting in the front seats, she was left with Ash and Pikachu in the back. Charizard hovered over them, following the car and ready to act on any signs of danger.

She wondered, though, if she was really up to the task. Before meeting Ash, all she had wanted was to rescue her father. From that to saving the world, was a quite leap. Even with all their Pokemon, it was very unlikely that they would succeed, not without help.

"Arina, I wanted to thank you."

"Huh? Why?" Arina asked, turning to Ash.

"You were the first trainer I've seen using those combos. And I was able to beat Domino thanks to that."

"I'm sure you could have beaten her anyway," Arina said, blushing slightly.

"Combos?" Drew asked, not taking his eyes off the road. "I've heard about that, but never seen them in action. I dismissed it as simply another way to fight."

"In a way, they are," Ash admitted, "but they can be really confusing for your rivals in a fight."

"So, how long until we get to Kanto?"

"About one hour more," Drew said, "then two hours to reach Goldenrod, if we don't have any surprises on the road."

Ash nodded at that. He was used to travel on foot, but he could really get used to fast travelling like this when speed was a must. He was curious about Max, he had heard next to nothing from him since they split.

* * *

**A/N:** Ash's misspelling of Butch's name is purposeful. It was a running gag in the show, and one of the few running gags I actually found funny. 


	5. Legends

**Pokemon: Endgames.**

**Episode 5: Legends.**

_By Razor Knight_

_Last update: November 24, 2007_

* * *

The trip to Goldenrod was as uneventful as it was quiet. When the car finally stopped in front of a Pokecenter, Ash could see the city was mostly unchanged. And as large as ever. 

"Pika pi, pika."

"Yeah, this brings back memories," Ash admitted.

As the group walked into the center, they could see a blue-haired boy waiting for them. It wasn't hard for Ash to recognize him, since he looked just as he remembered him... Only his face showed a lot more maturity.

What he was surprised about, was the Pokemon standing next to him. "A... Gardevoir?"

Max nodded. "Been a while, Ash. I see you have new friends too. Arina Stanton, right?"

"Everyone knows me," Arina muttered, then smiled at Max. "Nice to meet you."

Max nodded, then looked at Gardevoir. "You don't remember him? Well, I was travelling with him back when we first met, Psika."

"Wait," Ash said, as a memory of one of his many adventures resurfaced. "You mean this Gardevoir is that Ralts you helped?"

Max smiled. "Good memory. She came looking for me, and her timing was perfect, as I was thinking about starting my own journey. She's been my partner Pokemon since then."

_'Nice too meet you,'_ Psika 'said' with her mental voice.

"Max, do you have any more information for us?" May asked.

"I don't know what Birch was workin on, but I know one of the first professors to disappear, Ivy, was working on an ancient tome found in an archeologic excavation a few months ago."

"And the Rockets took that tome with them," Drew guessed.

Max nodded. "Fortunately, Ivy had left enough notes, but they were encrypted. That's no problem for me, however, so now I know what the Rockets are looking for."

"You mean you... Hacked Ivy's computer?"

Max turned to Arina. "Yes. I know I could get in troubles for that, but in this case, I think the end justifies the means."

Ash frowned. "What about that tome?"

Max looked around and then sighed. "Let's go elsewhere, we shouldn't discuss this in public."

* * *

Several minutes later, the group was inside an abandoned warehouse. "Nice place you've got here," Drew noted. It was better than sleeping out in the open, at least. 

"Saves me the money I'd waste for a hotel room," Max said, "and I wasn't planning on staying in Goldenrod for much longer."

_'Miss May, is everyone okay back home?'_

"Yes, don't worry, only a couple police officers were killed. The town's a mess, though."

Ash blinked. He hadn't heard the Gardevoir's speak, which meant she could also send her thoughts to a single human. "Back to Ivy..."

"Let's see..." Max produced a small device, like a cellphone, and pushed a few buttons. He then smiled and said. "That tome had mostly drawings in it, but there was a written passage, in an ancient language Ivy desciphered before the Rockets got her."

"Think they were targeting her for that?"

Max shook his head. "Ivy didn't publish her discoveries, she had planned to do so one week after her capture. Rockets were looking for one more scientist to help them in whatever they were planning, and instead found a mean to achieve their goals."

"So, what was that passage about?"

"It's hard to make sense of it," Max said, "but here." He handed Ash and May a couple printed pages, both with the same text. What Ash read in them was, indeed, not making much sense to him.

_A Shard of the Moon and the Sun to open the Way. A Sword to defeat the Guardian. A Spark of Life to cast away Fear. A Ray of Hope to banish Darkness. And the Greatest Treasure of All. Once these keys are gathered, the path will be shown. Follow it, and you will have the greatest force in the Universe at your command._

As Ash read the paper, he tried to guess some of the lines. Obviously, the shards were a Moon and a Sun stones, but what about the rest of the items? "I only know what the first two are," Ash admitted at last.

"Same," Arina said. "It's too obvious, a Moonstone and a Sunstone. "

"A sword may just be that, but what sword, and where to find it?" Drew pondered.

"As for the others, a Ray of Hope, a Spark of Life and the Greatest Treasure," Max said, "I have no idea what they are. I've been browsing the net, trying to find any clues on them, but no luck thus far."

May gasped as she realized what the Rockets had been searcing at Littleroot. "Damn it, now I remember. Birch had a Moonstone in the lab months ago, said he was studying it."

"And a Sun stone was reported missing from a museum in Johto days ago," Max said, "so they have two of the pieces of that puzzle."

"Is this translation accurate?" Drew asked.

"I don't know, I'm a computer wiz, not an ancient language wiz," Max admitted.

"Let's try to find the other items before the Rockets do. We can foil their plans, and maybe capture a grunt and have them tell us where their base is."

_'I sense several humans and Pokemon approaching this building, '_ Psika said.

"Rockets?" May asked, reaching for the only Pokeball in her belt.

_'No, I sense no... Malice in these beings,'_ Psika said._'Not towards us, anyway.'_

Ash stood ready, despite Psika's words, along with Pikachu. Max looked at his device and smirked. "Whoever they are, they're not wearing Rocket suits." At the others' inquisitive looks, he smiled. "This area is full of security cammeras, and they're so easy to hack into..."

"My brother, the geek," May joked.

"You're just jealous of my skills," Max countered with a grin.

Drew walked to the door and looked out, seeing a pack of men and women walking to the warehouse, about a dozen in total. "Well, we never thought we would get visitors."

Ash looked out through a partially broken window, and recognized two of the men. "Archie and Maxie? This can't be."

Arina's eyebrows rose at that. "Who are they?"

"There was a couple dangerous groups around when I was a kid, Team Aqua and Team Magma. They did a lot of dangerous things, and put people in danger, as one group wanted to expand the land for Pokemon, while the other wanted to cover the planet with water."

"I remember them," Max said, "but I thought they had dropped out."

"We're about to know if they did," Ash said, looking at Pikachu.

_'Their intentions aren't hostile,'_ Psika insisted, _'but I'm not sure they won't react if you attack them.'_

"Wasn't planning to, but I must be ready to defend myself."

Max snorted. "Trust me, Ash, Psika knows what she's talking about. "

"Welcome to our humble hideout," Drew said half-jokingly as the unknown group reached the door.

"We are here looking for Ash Catchum," Archie said.

"And what are you up to this time?"

Maxie gave Ash a half-smile as he and his group walked in. "Our days of breaking the law and playing God are over, Ash."

"Good to hear. So, what is this for? I don't think it's a social visit."

"To use a movie cliche, 'we came in peace,'" Archie said. "Our two teams didn't vanish, but we've been working in secret ever since the fiasco with the orbs. We've been keeping an eye on Team Rocket, and we know they're slowly working towards taking over the world."

"What, you want a piece of that cake?" Drew asked.

"That was uncalled for," Maxie snapped. "But I'm not here to fight. See, our goal in the past was making a better world for Pokemon, even though we had different strategies. And even today, we will not sit and watch while a group of greedy humans enslaves and kills Pokemon for their own personal gain."

"Specially since we know of the Tome of Power, as the Rockets have codenamed it."

"I bet it's the same we just figured out," Ash guessed. "Something about shards, a sword and keys?"

"Correct," Archie said. "We beat Team Rocket to the third relic, one of our sponsors had it as an antique, and we had a hard time convincing him of its importance."

"What is it?"

Maxie produced a small device, which he set on a crate. The device lit up, forming a tri-dimensional image of a saber. "The Guardian Sword, found in an excavation in Sinnoh."

"Are you trying to get that power for yourselves?"

Archie looked at Max and snorted. "In the past, we would. But nowadays, we're trying to keep the world in one piece. I don't think anyone could handle that 'force' the Tome speaks of, so we thought we had to get there first and destroy it."

As Max looked at her, Psika reached out with her senses. _'They're not lying, Max. Their hearts are true to their words. '_

"I see," Max said. "I believe you... Wait, what are you called now, Aqua or Magma?"

"Neither," Maxie said. "We're the Team Terra."

"I'm not joining you, though," Ash said.

"Nor are we asking you to."

"What's the point in coming here, then?"

"Simple," Archie said with a shrug. "Two groups search better than one, and we are on the same side of this battle. An alliance would be the wisest path to take."

"So I would like to think," Ash said, looking at Psika. "And I'll take the risk."

"Good," Archie smiled. "Some of our men think the last three relics mentioned in that tome aren't tangible things."

"It's just a wild guess," Maxie admitted, "but maybe your group can get somewhere with it."

As the group walked out the door, Archie stood behind, tossing a small device at Ash. "If you need help with the Rockets, call us. We are as widespread as they are, and I would be stupid if I thought they don't know we're still here."

Ash nodded at the man and watched him leave. "Okay, that went far better than I thought."

"So, what is your next target, Ash?"

"I'm going to Pallet first," Ash said, "I need to make sure nothing else happened while I was away."

"We can take you there in a minute," Max said.

"What you mean 'we'?" May asked.

"Last time you saw Psika, she was still a Kirilian. On a crazy idea of mine, we trained her teleportation abilities a lot while we travelled."

"I still don't get it," May admitted.

"Yeah, you're still quite slow, sister," Max joked, and May stuck her tongue out at him. "Right now, Psika can teleport directly to any Pokecenter she's visited before."

"Amazing," Ash admitted.

"I heard some cases like that in the past," Drew said. "It must be quite an useful skill."

"Sure it is. So, everyone's ready?"

"I'll have to call someone to pick up car up," Drew said. "I don't think your psygirl can handle a car, right?"

"Good guess," Max said.

_'I thought we could get some time for ourselves after we helped them.'_

Max smiled at Psika, knowing the others hadn't 'heard' her. _'We'll be helping them for a while.'_

_'Just stop eyeing that Arina woman. It would be a pity if I accidentally fired a psi blast her way.'_

Max chuckled at that. _'Sorry. But try to keep it down, my sister and the others would surely freak out if they knew.'_

"Done," Drew said as he put his phone back in his backpack. "What's he doing?" he asked noticing Max was apparently having a staring contest with his Gardevoir.

"No idea," May admitted.

"Me and Psika have been travelling for a while," Max explained. "Somewhere along the way, I discovered she could read my thoughts when I focused them in her."

"Not the first time I saw something like that," Ash admitted. "In any case, I think we're all ready to teleport." At the others' nods, he smiled. "As they said in that old show, Skitty, beam me up."

_'Am not a Skitty,'_ Psika muttered before closing her eyes. A few second laters, the group was gone.

* * *

"Are they really strong enough to take on Giovanni?" 

"Giovanni isn't the real problem here. Ash will have to swim through a sea of grunts before getting there."

The three figures blinked as they saw Ash and company appearing near the Pokecenter. "Your guess was right, they were heading this way."

"Are we going to let them know we're here yet?"

"Not yet, but it will not be long until we have to."

* * *

**A/N:** Yep, the same shady figures from episode two are back. Who are they? I don't think the guess is hard to make. 

As for Psika's ability... It was canon in the games, wasn't it? Okay, so I tweaked it a bit. The anime itself tweaks the game facts left and right and nobody really cares, so why can't we:P


End file.
